The Hatton
W. Sumners Library is your opportunity to learn more about Congressman
Sumners' life, career and beliefs.

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Congressman Hatton W. Sumners was a key figure in the unfolding drama
of American democracy during the first half of the 20th century, a period
that encompassed two world wars and produced startling changes in many
phases of this nation's life. Sumners' role was not that of a spectator.
He served as a decision-maker and as a policy formulator throughout his
34 years of congressional service, which spanned the first administration
of President Woodrow Wilson to the end of World War II.

Born near Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, on May 30, 1875,
Sumners was raised as a farm boy in an era in which hard work and responsibilities
came at an early age. As a young man, Sumners moved with his family to
Texas. There, despite little formal education, he "read law" in
the office of the Dallas City Attorney, and was admitted to the State
Bar of Texas. Throughout his life he would continue to educate himself
by wide reading, deep thought and acute observation.

At the age of 24, Sumners was elected prosecuting attorney of Dallas
County, at a time when, as he said, "Dallas was just emerging from
the wild west days." In this position, he served two non-consecutive
terms in spite of the determined opposition of organized gambling interests,
apparent election frauds and threats to his life.

In 1912 he was elected Congressman-at-Large from Texas, one of two elected
from more than 20 candidates. Two years later, after the state
had been redistricted, he was elected representative from the Fifth District
of Texas. Reelected every two years, he served continuously until his
voluntary retirement in 1947.

Hatton W. Sumners was an extraordinary public servant. Respected and
admired by those who knew him, he was universally recognized as a man
of great moral courage, possessed of a sincere and deep spiritual conviction.
As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (1931-1947), Sumners acquired
a justly-deserved reputation as the greatest constitutional lawyer in
Congress and it was common knowledge that by 1937 he was in line for
the next vacancy on the United States Supreme Court.

It was around this same time that cases challenging the Social Security
Act and the Wagner Act were pending before the Court. In 1935 the Schecter
decision nullified the NRA codes and in 1936 the Court ruled against
the AAA processing taxes. In an effort to ensure holdings validating
the acts pending before the Court and other New Deal legislation, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the reorganization of the Supreme Court,
including the appointment of as many as six new justices.

Sumners immediately notified the president of his opposition to the
proposal as a flagrant violation of the "checks and balances" and
separation of powers principles of the United States Constitution. He
declared that he would fight against the proposal to the finish, knowing
that his public opposition to the measure ended his chances of becoming
a member of the high court. His untiring efforts and leadership were
successful, and the plan was defeated, although at great cost to his
personal career.

Following his retirement from Congress in 1947, Sumners continued to
work for the public good. He set forth his lifelong belief in the maintenance
of the balance of power and responsibilities between the federal government
and the states in his book, The Private Citizen
and His Democracy, published
in 1959. He believed in vigorous participation by individual citizens
in their government, and he recognized that a strong and independent
judiciary and legal system are necessary to the survival of the American
system of constitutional government.

In 1949 he established the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation for the Study
and Teaching of the Science of Self-Government and thereafter willed
to the foundation the property which produces the income that enables
the Foundation to carry on its work.

He died in Dallas, Texas, on April 19, 1962.

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For more information on the life and career of Hatton W. Sumners, you
are invited to download the following documents. You will need
Adobe Acrobat Reader to open these files. If you do not have it,
this program can be downloaded from:

The Congressional
Record, U.S. House
of Representatives, July 13, 1937. This is a reprint
of Congressman Sumners' speech on the floor of the House of Representatives
in opposition to President Roosevelt's plan to "pack" the U.S. Supreme
Court. [84k]

Capitol
Leaders in Revolt, The
Evening Star, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, May 17, 1938.
By Ray Tucker, this story was one of a series on Congressional leaders'
opposition to many New Deal initiatives. [84k]

The
Gentleman Who Does Not Yield, The Saturday
Evening Post, May 10, 1941. By Raymond Moley & Celeste
Jedel, this story reviews Congressman Sumners' career and the role
the Congress in the political affairs of the nation. [76k]